The present invention relates to cookware for use in microwave ovens and more particularly to a baking device especially for baking potatoes in a microwave oven.
Various devices have been suggested for increasing the efficiency of baking a potato in an oven. For example, metal racks equipped with upright spikes for impaling potatoes have been suggested for this purpose, with the spikes serving to hold the potatoes in spaced apart relationship on the rack to expose all surfaces of all potatoes to the cooking heat and at the same time conduct heat through the spikes to the interior of the potatoes. Such racks are typified by those shown in Perez U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,118, Foch U.S. Pat. No. 1,969,601, and Kelley U.S. Pat. No. 1,339,350. However, such racks are not suitable for use in microwave ovens because they are usually made of metal or other materials that are not microwave compatible. In addition, the spikes of such racks do not adequately ventilate moisture and gases from the interior of the potatoes while cooking and therefore do not prevent the possibility of exploding a potato, which hazard is much greater in microwave cooking than in conventional cooking. Finally, such sharp pointed spikes present a safety hazard to the user.
Others have suggested a modification of the aforementioned spike-type racks for cooking potatoes. For example, in Knauff U.S. Pat. No. 1,630,188, Doersch U.S. Pat. No. 997,653, and Fairbanks U.S. Pat. No. 931,587, metal racks are provided with upright pointed teeth or tongues of thin metal on which to impale the potatoes for cooking. However, such teeth have many of the same drawbacks as spikes for use in baking potatoes. The teeth, like spikes, do not adequately ventilate the potato and therefore do not prevent the potato from exploding; the teeth, like the racks which support them, are not made of a microwave transparent material and therefore are unsuitable for use in microwave ovens; and the sharp pointed teeth, like spikes, can cause accidental injury to the user of the rack.
Cookware designed especially for use in microwave ovens is available. However, typically such cookware takes the form of a rack, tray, or pan made of a microwave compatible material such as a suitable plastic or paperboard product. Such cookware is typified by the disclosures in Hanson U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,464, Frederick U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,510, Fichtner U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,632, and Welch U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,435. However, such cookware is unsuitable for the efficient baking of potatoes in a microwave oven mainly because they provide no means for holding and optimally spacing and positioning the potatoes in the microwave oven for the most efficient baking, and they provide no means for venting the potatoes while baking.
Accordingly, there is a distinct need for a device especially designed for baking potatoes in a microwave oven which overcomes the deficiencies of the aforementioned prior art. Primary objectives of the invention, therefore, are to provide a device especially for baking potatoes in a microwave oven that will:
1. Optimally space and position the potatoes in a microwave oven for efficient use of the microwave energy;
2. Easily mount potatoes on the device;
3. Mount potatoes without danger of injury to the user;
4. Vent moisture and gases from the potatoes while baking;
5. Prevent the device from tipping while potatoes are mounted thereon;
6. Nest with similar such devices for efficient storage;
7. Handle easily;
8. Resist the effects of microwave energy;
9. Clean easily; and
10. Manufacture easily and at low cost.